Railroad restoration company coming to Lenoir

A Pennysylvania-based company that restores railroad cars plans to buy the old Delta Electric building on Fairview Drive in Lenoir and hire up to 10 people over the next two years for a restoration operation there, officials said Monday night.

Pontrelli Rail Equipment Repair Company hopes to complete its purchase by the first of October and plans to invest $750,000 to $1 million in the building, Deborah Murray, the executive director of the Caldwell County Economic Development Commission, told the Caldwell County Board of Commissioners.

The board approved an incentive of $2,000 per job created for Pontrelli. Murray said the jobs are expected to pay an average of $31,200.

Murray said Pontrelli's arrival with further help the county diversify its economy, something she called one of the EDC’s most significant goals.

In other business Monday night, the board approved Caldwell County Emergency Management to apply for two grants to help fund Emergency Medical Service operations and buy new equipment and resources.

The first, a $17,728 Google Data Center Grant, will be used to update equipment at the county’s Emergency Operations Center in Lenoir with 10 new laptop computers as well as monitors, projectors and other equipment, the grant request states.

The second grant, for approximately $16,000, will purchase Community Emergency Response Training kits and literature to be given out at the 2013 Caldwell County Fire and Life Safety Festival in October.